9th June 2022- On our way home

 Well we had an early breakfast and sat in the lounge for a while and then returned to the bedroom and finished packing the suitcases. We had arranged for a decent car to take us to the airport as the Istanbul Taxi driving was poor and to spend perhaps an hour in their care I don't think we would have survived it. The large BMW 7 series was waiting for us and although it was a little pricey it was so much more comfortable than the alternative and off wee went to the Airport and the traffic was light, surprisingly, and it only took 45 minutes to reach the airport.

En-route the the airport the driver was on the mobile phone briefly and I heard him say British Airways and when we arrived at the Airport departure area there were two guys waiting to greet us. One for the luggage and the other to show us the way?? and then it would appear that when we booked the car we had also booked the VIP Airport support so the representative did just about everything for us including taking us to the lounge and then eventually off to the gate. Istanbul Airport was mind blowing and perhaps the best Airport I have ever been to apart from perhaps Singapore.

Apparently the Airport was designed by a British Company with assistance from a Finnish consortium and they have done a brilliant job. 

This is a massive building, perhaps the largest in the world with a brilliant design and the colours and signboards I would say this was the perfect airport. We killed about an hour in the lounge and we then went to the gate and boarded the BA Airbus 320 and it was packed,. The flight left about 30 minutes late but they made that up en-route so the we eventually arrived on schedule. The food on board was sparse and really BA should do better, no wonder people are leaving the airline in droves and we shall seek alternatives the next time we fly.

We arrived at Heathrow terminal 5 and followed the underground passages which

are dark and dreary and this terminal is the pits and when you get to immigration its surprising the staff don't leave as its low light, grey paint and most unpleasant. Its also badly organised so whoever designed it needs a good kick the arse.

Our Taxi was waiting and we got home around 0930 and had a lovely cup of tea.

Well that the end of the Blog for the time being and I think, actually I know, we are a little travel weary after being away nearly 15 weeks this year and so its time for some time at home. In the meantime we have a street party on 25 or 26th June and then Noel's 80th Birthday Party which will no doubt erase the Queens Jubilee into a small day out...

8th June 2022- How can things go so wrong-Long Live the British Black Cab

We awoke to see a grey and overcast sky and with rain being shown to come later and at around the time were planning our boat trip so our decision was to wait and see how the weather improves or otherwise. So went down to breakfast and afterwards sat on the balcony overlooking the park and some kids playing on the equipment for a while and then we talked about the boat trip but we were both tired from yesterdays long walk and when considering that we have just spent two weeks on a cruise ship stopping at islands every day so do another boat trip even on the Bosphorus  seemed to be over the top and that a further walking day would be over the top and so a quiet day and mid afternoon dinner was planned.

Following breakfast we made arrangements for a car to take us to the airport as neither of us fancied a beaten up old Fiat being driven by a lunatic whilst using two phones and keep talking to people whilst keeping his right foot hard to the floor until something appeared in the road ahead, not for us for a one hour drive. We need to print our boarding passes later and so we discovered how to do this. About three days ago I mentioned to the receptionist of the Executive Lounge the bloody McDonalds type music and we have noticed about one day after the music changed to much more relaxed sounds, so you have to complain to get things done.

Around 1500 we thought about heading over to the Corner Irish Pub which was a simple thing the day before and the taxi driver was instructed where to go and of we went at a high rate of knots missing cars and pedestrian  by inches and the whole road scene made even worse with the electric scooters everywhere it was a hang on and hope you get there type ride. Needless to say the driver did not speak a word of the English language and the n he tried to drop us of at several wrong locations and him insisting he was correct and we were wrong, he kept waiving his arms around saying TRAFFIC , TRAFFIC No good you get out and he said using google translate we were only 4 minutes from the bar but he cannot go due traffic. So out we got and tried to follow google maps for walking which we have not really done before and unknowingly headed of in completely the wrong direction, however the streets we walked were fascinating with one with every shop selling different types of musical instruments. After a while and bearing in all the very narrow streets with high buildings dear old google GPS was not working and so we were completely lost. So the only solution was to try and get another taxi via Uber but after being exhausted Noel hit the wrong buttons and sent the taxi to the Irish bar instead, what a prat. We finally found another Taxi who offered to take us at some exorbitant price which we negotiated down and spent another twenty five minutes in a taxi and the driver again dropping us of, or attempting to , at the wrong location. This is ridiculous.

So we started walking we hoped in the right direction this time and after a few minutes found a group of police and one helped by looking on his own phone and said that way until ZARA then ask again. So off we went again a reached Zara and at that point the google maps was getting very excited saying the bar is seventy metres away and finally we found the place. Gosh the beer tasted good after about one mile unexpected walk and Noel without his walking poles. By this time we were both rather tired from walking, lack of food and water  but spent an enjoyable couple of hours at the bar and having dinner.

We called for an Uber taxi who found the bar without any problems?? unlike the other idiots and he dropped us back at the Hotel around 19.00 and so Noel was able to do the BA check in and get boarding passes printed.

The rest of the evening we watched some stuff on I-Player and then retired to bed shortly after 22.00 having had an exhausting afternoon compared to the quiet day planned, such is life. Yes London Black Cabs  oh boy what a difference it makes having decent safe drivers who are not on two phones at the same time and whizzing in and out of traffic as though he has only a few minutes to live . Ah well  we pack up tomorrow morning and leave for the airport at 13.30.

7th June 2022- A walking tour of Istanbul

After a late breakfast we departed the Hotel by Taxi and went to the Galata Bridge, one of the few bridges that cross from Europe to Asia, and walked over the bridge and watched the literally the ten’s of fishermen  all pulling lots of little fish from the water. What was strange the fishermen were only operating on one side of the bridge only, perhaps something to do with tides. This area, like everywhere else, was thronging with people and also below the bridge were very many ferries which operate up and down the Bosporus and fascinating to watch.

From there we headed to the Spice Market and there was shop after shop selling all sorts of spices and with a few cheap watch shops in between, watches were being sold for about £ 8.00 . All the way passing the various shops the storekeeper or his staff are stepping out in front of you saying ‘Hello where do you come from and you must by my…. whatever it is they are selling.  Needless to say we did not try any of the foods offered as for Noel this could have been a real problem. After about an hour and half wandering the streets we were needing  a rest and a drink but not sure where to safely eat we came upon a Burger King and decided we would opt for some chips and not risk the Burger and not knowing what was in it and also unable to question the staff selling it.

From there we carried up the hill and through interesting street after another with wonderful old building’s and not one empty shop insight and with lots of people everywhere reminiscent of Hong Kong crowds it looks like the economy is booming, well at least here it was. We finally arrived at the Blue Mosque along with several hundred other people only to find it was largely covered with tarpaulin and scaffolding and so you could really see the outside properly. There was also a queue to go in and it requires taking off shoes which isn't good for Noel balance and as we were getting a little tired we decided that  was enough for the day and we need a beer and food we can rely. We had already picked out an Irish Pub and they generally are good and we caught a taxi who ripped us of a little bit so we leant our lesson and we arrived after about 45 minute taxi ride at the Corner Irish Bar which was really good. The beer menu was significantly bigger than the food menu which largely consisted of Burgers of various types, pizza’s and of course fish and chips which we both went for. We tested out the Carlsberg draft beer which tasted brilliant after a hard days walking and then decided rather than have all the taxi price issues again Noel called for an UBER which worked well.

We arrived back at the Hotel quite tired after all our walking uphill and down dale , as they say and then spent a quiet evening i the room watching BBC I Player programs. Perhaps we should have come to this place twenty years ago when we were much fitter however there is a limit to how many churches, museums and mosques you can loom at but we found the spice market well worth the visit but did not visit the grand bazaar as we really don't need anything. We are considering a boat ride tomorrow if the weather is nice although just having come off a two week cruise do we really need another boat ride?

Gosh we both ache….

6 June 2022- Day 2 in Istanbul, not quite what we expected

We awoke this morning with a haze over the city and the potential for rain later in the day. Noel has a throat problem normally associated with getting a cold  which is a pain as he cannot take most proprietary medicines as they contain sucrose and glucose etc however we went for breakfast and our plans for today again a restful day and the go on the evening Bosporus cruise. After breakfast Noel did all his photo uploads to the blog whilst in the Executive Lounge whilst Jennifer went for a swim although it was not to warm unlike the cruise ship.

The lunch we had upon arrival yesterday did cause me some small issues down below but we put that down to missing meals but anyway we went back the the restaurant in the hotel for lunch with Jennifer having  the sea bass and Noel the salmon. Well there must be something they are using during the cooking or that the salmon was very fatty but we both then started to experience tummy issues and so decided not to go on the cruise  but continue with a quiet day with Jennifer doing more sewing. The Executive room in the Hotel is very comfortable and the staff are nice and friendly and the food, if you can eat it, also looks nice except the background music is totally wrong for a quiet lounge, more of that later.

So in the afternoon we spent some more time in the room with a nice view over a park and tall buildings in the distance with a large main road flooded with traffic. Prior to going back to the executive lounge for early evening snacks we went to a bar on the 14th floor with views all around Istanbul for some photos, there was an outside area where it would have been nice to sit in but the smell of cigarette smoke was overpowering. We enjoyed our snacks in the lounge but the music was getting rather frenetic and so I had a chat with the receptionist explaining that as a world traveller the Executive lounge should be a restful place and not with music like McDonalds, he understood my point but asked me to wait whilst he filled a report to the GM of the Hotel.

Using our VPN we watched a video on BBC I-player for a while and then a couple of videos on you tube and then making plans for the next days assuming we feel better that is.

It looks like Boris will have a tough time with the ‘vote of no confidence’ rather stupid of the Tory MP’s to start this with all the problems of the world, the papers indicate Jeremy Hunt ( I think that's the correct spelling) is behind this movement, Oh my god what a disaster he would be . He failed miserably as Health Secretary so what make him think he could become a UK PM , Lord help us for we do not know what we do!!!

Time for a little rant on the world state today

Having over the past couple of weeks time to read many newspapers and listen to both the USA and OZZY TV channels as well as SKY and BBC there is pattern emerging around the world which the UK news papers are not covering so here goes.

The Economy and INFLATION

The UK papers and TV Channels are full of cost inflation matters and everybody is blaming anything from Brexit to Boris to Ukraine and even Russia. What they don't point out that the US inflation is such that fuel is 2.5 times more than it was a year a ago. Two years ago you would pay less les USD 2 per gallon and now it is reaching USD 6 and for Diesel over USD 7 and of course the cost of running vehicles increases considerably and so the cost of transporting foodstuffs and anything else has also grown well beyond expectations.  This matter is also reflected in a lot of countries around the world but  where in the UK press do you see coverage of this??

Flights and Airport Delays

The ongoing problems at UK Airports is also a problem elsewhere in the world. Having been on a ship with guests from Australia, USA and other places they were all complaining of the same problems in their countries where Airlines have laid off staff and then unable to get them back or even attract new people to join so inevitably planned flights are cancelled due to lack of crew, airport staff of all types. I receive airline updates from various people and in the last week Amsterdam airport had to be closed as it could not handle the current load of passenger and in the end KLM the home carrier stopped allowing people to fly to Amsterdam Schiphol  Airport and all the all the planes flew empty back to their home station. It will take a long while for new crew and airport workers to be trained and have the required security checks before we ever get back to what might be considered normal.So please what has BREXIT got to do with it. People seem to have completely forgotten about the two year Pandemic screwing everything up.

Russia and PUTIN

What Putin has tried to do appears to be failing quite badly as they did not expect the rest of the world to get involved. It is clear that Putin is worried with no success, riots at home, the Russian economy falling to bits and even worse ladies unable to buy Gucci handbags and the like. At least Biden seems happy as he can now and does blame all the current inflation worries, cost of fuel and lack or baby formula (very bad at the moment in the USA and not improved by Government giving lots of stocks to arriving immigrants) on Putin irrespective of the fact that Trump started to allow oil from Alaska and so there would not have been a USA problem. In the last couple of days Biden has said the high cost of fuel is a good thing as it will help the drive to low emissions, Ha you tell that to the Americans who have no public transport anywhere near them and they fuel for their vehicle to get to work .Its a surprise Biden did not blame his son for the Ukraine war.

Depp vs Heard

Neither person came out of this court case looking good only it was surprising how many women are against Heard and supporting Depp and it was subsequently proven that Depp who may be a piss artist and a druggee was more likely to smash up a kitchen cabinet than hit his wife. Looking at Heard all she wanted was fame like another lady called Megan something or other who married a prince who she thought might be the right hand of God and help her get better paid film parts, oh boy was she wrong.

Boris and Local Government

Lets talk about local Government first, their are many County and Borough Councils who have borrowed money and poured into useless investments when in fact they money was to be spent on the community. Billions have been spent investing in Land, Buildings, Housing developments, Utility Companies etc . Even our local council ( Woking) has suddenly been recognised as a total failure by the investment in a huge Town center development which nobody needs or wanted and so its empty. Brilliant.

The party gate and Boris is one of the most stupid and embarrassing political issues to have hit the UK for some while. I accept he should have been perhaps a little more careful but the biggest problem is the bloody useless civils servants, Oh dear how ‘YES MINISTER’ is so true. I don't give a monkeys uncle if Boris had a pint after work, running the country is not like driving a bus, so give him some slack. When writing this there is planned a vote of no confidence this afternoon in Westminster and if they kick him out what even bigger idiot will they appoint…

You can see why I get angry…..

5th June 2022 We arrive in Istanbul and time to leave the ship

The ship arrived in the Istanbul Harbour at about the same time as our alarm clock went off, really don't like these early morning and by 0715 the ship was tied up and they had started to unload the baggage. We headed down to breakfast and as we have our on private arrangements we did not need to follow the rest of the guests on board, some were staying on for another week or two, but about 100 guests were leaving the ship here and so we waited over breakfast as we had ordered a car to meet us at the port and take us to the Conrad Hilton Hotel where we would stay for four nights. The car was ordered for 0945 but the driver turned up one hour early, did not affect the price thank heavens, and so we decided to leave the ship a bit early to avoid keeping him waiting to long.

Having disembarked we had to go through a X-Ray security check and immigration which took all of ten minutes and we then got a porter to take our bags to the waiting car. The streets were quite empty and many shops closed but I suppose it was about 0930 on a Sunday. We crossed the bridge from the Europe side to the Asia Side of the town and the bridge was packed with anglers but would be a little concerned eating fish from this port area. We arrived the the Hotel many hours before our anticipated arrival time but we had to go thro arrival security where the car is checked by a machine to look for bombs in the vehicle and then we had to go thro X-Ray machines for both us and baggage, such security, however the receptionist was very helpful and found us a room immediately on the 15th floor ( top floor) with great views over the city. So after unpacking and settling in to the toom we had a quick rest and then went for lunch in the restaurant and had to go thro the ‘no garlic, onions etc etc and they were most helpful in guiding me over the menu and I ended it with a small steak which was very nice and tasty.

We spent the afternoon in the Executive lounge which was part inside and part outside and Noel did his photo uploads which took quite some while but eventually as the sun came down lower and shining more  in to the balcony it became impossible to see the screen anymore and so we spent another hour and enjoyed the free tit bits and drinks and then headed up to the Summit Lounge to check out the menu and a quick beer but after about 7.30 pm we were both feeling a little tired and so headed back to the room where we spent a quiet evening. discussing what we shall do in the way of site seeing, the round town bus or private tour.

Tomorrow we plan a quiet morning and then perhaps in the evening and boat cruise on the Bosporus.

5th June 2022- Bozcaada-Turkey and last night on board Seabourn Encore

Well this the last full day on the ship and we have planned our day so that Jennifer went first thing in the morning for a complimentary massage ( actually it was Noel’s complimentary massage) which he kindly donated to Jennifer as clearly she was enjoying them. We also did a calculation of the On Board Credit status and we still has some money left and enough for a nail job which Jennifer has booked for later in the day. We did think of going to the Island but the sea was a little rough and with high temperatures expected so we decided against and had a quiet time.

In the afternoon and after a quick lunch by the pool we headed back to the room for a short rest before commencing our packing in advance of leaving the ship. We pretty much finished filling the suitcases around 18.00 and then Jennifer went off for her nails to be covered in paint whilst Noel got ready for the evening where as it was the last night for about 100 guests were leaving the ship tomorrow and so they had the usual open party and with band playing and hot and cold running food bits and pieces which of course Noel could not eat. Jennifer returned and we enjoyed the music and I was able to personally thank a number of senior Chef’s for watching out for my diet issues. Once the big show was over we went for our last dinner in the main restaurant which was also very good and again the opportunity to thank the Maitre’D and his colleagues again for taking such good care of us. Then back to the cabin to finish the last bit of packing before leaving the cases outside for collection.

In the main show Salon was a show called an ‘Evening with Tim Rice’ where the band and group and singers paid tribute to all the well known songs co written by Tim Rice together with Andrew Lloyd Webber, Elton John etc and it was a very professional show which we both enjoyed. They had a film of Tim Rice who would come on to introduce all the tunes to be played and well presented a and enjoyed by all the attendees.

So finally we returned to the cabin at about 2300 and as we have an early morning, well early for us, we hit the sack as they say.

3rd June 2022–Skiathos and nice Island town full of cafes and bars

Following breakfast on the Patio where Noel goes inside to the main restaurant to gather toast and bacon to make up his own Bacon Sarni whilst Jennifer enjoyed a croissant and also some cereal before heading back to the cabin to prepare for a venture in to the town.

We left the ship around 11.00 and arrived a few minutes later in the harbour of Skathios which was very busy with tourists and Greek school parties who were being escorted around the Island. We walked around the Island for about an hour but it was getting very hot and showing 32 C degrees which was a little warm and Noel taking loads of photos of this very photogenic town and the trip was quite enjoyable. In the little side lanes were many restaurants and the smell of cooking food was overpowering and quite unpleasant and made worse by the heat. We did think about stopping and having  beer but Noel was concerned that having not tried the local Greek beer what would be the effect and so we waited a short while for the tender to arrive before heading back to the ship and and air conditioned cabins.

We had a light lunch on the Patio, they do great salads, before heading back to the cabin to start preparing for our suitcase packing tomorrow as Jennifer wants to do some washing prior to leaving the ship in Istanbul. We had been invited to the Captains Cocktail party for Seabourn Club members which started around 6.30 and apart from a nice presentation of their new Antarctic ships which comes complete with two mini-submarines and loads of Zodiac boats to get your near to the action, it all looks great but no doubt damn expensive.

Following the cocktail we headed over to the restaurant for dinner and the Maître  D came over to discuss a chat we had earlier in the week about the Maldives which he had been exploring and found exciting to take his family. From there we went to the see the evening show where a female New Zealand Violin player spent the evening prancing around the stage playing nicely but her verbal intro’s were not really good and she was a bit full of herself, like aren't I really good, Uhhh .

Ah well and so to bed but tomorrow we have to get packed up with suitcases outside the cabin after 2000 for collection and being moved to the unloading bay for handing over to the cruise terminal operator.

When we get to Istanbul and the Hotel Wi-fi will enable me to upload all the hundreds of photos taken during this trip and also add some photos to this blog to make it more interesting. I will remember in future to immediately start using bottled water on cruise ships as they typically use de-salinization to create water for the ship but clearly based on my first week experience I will really avoid in future.

2nd June 2022–Mykonos Island-Rush hour like Oxford street

Well after an early morning start Jennifer departed with the tour to explore Mykonos Island with a tour which was delayed by about 45 minutes due to the strong waves unsettling the tenders initially being unsafe to board due to heavy movement of the waves.

Noel spent the morning catching up with Blogging and photos and watching the odd bit of TV about the Jubilee ceremonies taking place back in the UK but it all seemed a little bit slow. Jennifer arrived back about 12.30 after have a good walk amongst the over-crowded town where if you wanted to but something the shops were small but the place was packed as there were two other much larger ships in Port with the ‘Norwegian Sky’ and’ Odyssey of the Seas’ the latter having the capability of holding nearly 5000 passengers, how many on board there we do not know but the complete town was packed with tourists where you could not get in to a shop due to do many people. The trip was walking tour around the town with a brief light lunch of Meze which she enjoyed including a glass of Ouzo but apparently most of the guests on this tour were unwilling to try the food which Jennifer said was great.

We had our usual lunch on the Patio where you can choose your salad leaves, have them mixed with whatever you like, eg Blue cheese, Mayonnaise, 1000 Island etc before choosing which fish choice and/or there are Pizza and other stuff available but all very good.  In the afternoon Jennifer went to the special Jubilee afternoon tea with a special brew of tea and sandwiches and cakes some f which she sampled. The ship had been fully decorated with UK flags and even the Cruise Director was dressed in very British Clothes but in the evening the Band was on the Patio deck with a bit of a sing-a-long finishing  with Vera Lyne’s ‘We will meet again’ which seemed to be enjoyed by all although we were a little late arrving and only caught about half of the event but still it was nice.

For a change we went to the Colonnade for dinner as they were having ‘British night’ with Lancashire Hot pot, Typical Roast Beef and Yorkshire pudding which was very nice. There was a new waiter on out table who must have got a bit confused as part the way through our starters the Maître Di appeared and asked did we really order  ‘Foie Gras’ which of course would be lade with Garlic which was impossible to take out but we explained there must have been a misunderstanding as we had not order this item so they all relaxed.

The restaurant was fairly quiet tonight but we were sat next to a single lady of about 30 years old to whom we started a conversation with which actually lasted a long time but apparently she is a Lecturer on the ship and she is due to make a presentation about Greek food this coming Saturday and was quite nice to have a chat with this very interesting lady who had lived for a while in the UK. There was a show on tonight but we decided to take a miss as it was about 2145 before we left the restaurant and the show had started at 2130 with someone we had never heard off. So we watched some rubbish BBC stuff on the Tv and then went to bed

1st June- and really nice day In Kusadasi-Turkey

The morning started off a bit slow with a nice breakfast with Noel spending time  catching up to date with the daily Blog and updating photos which will b uploaded when we get a  good Wi-Fi connection in  Istanbul. Jennifer continued with her sewing on the picture of three bears.

We decided to have an early lunch as later in the day we are due to go out to a evening at the amphitheatre in Ephesus to ancient city which in the AD years. To learn all about this historic city see link. There were day time tours to the historic site but this would be difficult for Noel and when listening to some of the guests who took the tour it was quite hard work climbing down the side of this amazing historic site.

An early dinner in the Colonnade before we left  and walked from the the ship to coaches about ten minutes walk with about one hundred plus people attending the function. The coach ride to the amphitheatre took about thirty minutes initially along the coast  and then leaving town to where the original coast used to be before the sea retreated?? what happened to Global warming when the seas are due to rise.

Arriving at the site we walked past about forty shops selling the usual t-shirts, handbags etc etc with the owners waylaying the guests on route to the evening event being held within the base of the amphitheatre. We were greeted by staff holding wine and then we had a photo taken for free they say, and the tables were laid out with nibbles, mostly dried up carrot and nuts and other bits and pieces which I don't think anybody touched when looking at the tables on leaving. There was approx. six people to one table allowing all forward looking. The small 8 piece orchestra played about ten pieces of classical music which they did very well although if you were at the back of the auditorium then it might have been hard to hear. The orchestra took a ten minute break after about playing for twenty minutes and then played for about a further twenty five minutes. Half way in to the evening the daylight disappeared and the lights came on around the old stadium and it looked quite beautiful.

We left the site around 21.30 for the half an hour journey back with the local tour guide passing around his I-Pad for people to make positive comments about his work needless to say we avoided this. I am getting fed up that each time you take a flight, train ride, Uber trip, stay in a Hotel, eat in a restaurant you get an email asking you for your comments on their performance.  If companies are concerned about their performance then they use their own staff to check it out like the US Tv programme where company owners put on make up and work in their own company rather then sending out emails all the time.

On arriving back at the Cruise Port the coaches dropped us off far away from the ship so the you MUST walk past all the shops selling rubbish and again being pestered by shop owners to visit their store on the other hand once we had gone thro security by guards not wearing masks, yet we as tourists must, we walked towards the ship to be greeted on the pier with about sixty crew waving and dancing with a big sign shoeing ‘Welcome Back’ to the high music sounds of Le Chic, amazing reception.

The part continued around the pool deck until about midnight with free flowing booze and food, none of which could Noel eat. We stayed up for a while then went to bed around 12.30  very late for us, as Jennifer is on a walking tour of Mykonos starting at 0845 tomorrow morning.

We were able to speak to our daughter earlier today and see the grandchildren which was nice.